Wichita State University's Shift Space Student Art Gallery invites all to celebrate the season of love with Film Friday, featuring "Strawberries and Chocolate" at 6 p.m. Feb. 20.

"Strawberries and Chocolate" is a 1990 Cuban-Spanish-Mexican co-produced film, directed by Tomas Gutierrez Alea and Juan Carlos Tabio. The movie is based on the Spanish short story "The Wolf, The Forest and the New Man," by Senel Paz, who also wrote the screenplay.

WSU Shift Space Gallery is located at 416 S. Commerce, Suite 102, Wichita. All events are free and open to the public. For more information, visit www.shiftspacegallery.com or find them on Facebook.

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Student organizations add an extra dimension to the WSU experienceTue, 27 Jan 2015 11:00:00 CSThttp://www.wichita.edu/thisis/wsunews/news/?nid=2725
WSU offers students a variety of opportunities to get involved and enhance their college experience with over 200 official student organizations.
File

For many students at Wichita State University, college life is an experience unlike anything that's challenged them before. It's a time of growth, excitement and independence, but being away from family and friends can also leave students without their support system.

Student Involvement offers a way for students to overcome this challenge by creating opportunities to have fun and get involved.

The mission of Student Involvement is to facilitate co-curricular experiences that engage and develop WSU students, building a vibrant campus culture that enhances the college experience.

Getting involved isn't just for students away from home for the first time. Jeffrey Nilsen, coordinator of student organizations at Student Involvement, says that taking an active role in campus life by participating in extracurricular activities is something every student should do.

"Being involved outside the classroom is such an important part of higher education," Nilsen said. "Participating in extracurricular activities is just as important as maintaining good grades. Not only is student involvement a way to make lifelong friends and gain new experiences, it's something employers really want to see."

Student Organizations

Wichita State currently has 220 official student organizations; groups that create opportunities for students to develop leadership and communication skills, demonstrate commitment to being involved citizens, work with people from diverse backgrounds and develop a stronger connection to the university.

Graduate student Steven Ordaz got involved during his first semester at WSU, and has grown as a student leader. He came to Wichita State after earning his undergraduate degree in business administration and information systems from the University of Texas, San Antonio. He is a member of the Student Activities Council and the Community Service Board, and is president of the WSU Harry Potter Alliance.

The process of becoming socially involved in college is simple, Ordaz explained. Students should start by investigating opportunities in their environment, he suggested, and put themselves out there to see what's a good fit. If students stick with it, they'll make friends and begin to relate to the group's vision.

"It's an ongoing process where you learn and participate," Ordaz said, "and before long you're one of them. That's how you come to belong. Then it becomes a cycle – you turn around and reach out to include others."

At a glance, not all student groups appeal to all students, but the diversity among them mirrors the diversity of the student body. There's a good chance that every student can find one or more organizations that appeal to them – and if not, starting a new one is always an option. A few of them include:

The Nerd Union, a club for fans of anime, video games and other forms of pop culture that prides itself on providing a niche where those who feel out of place can go to connect with peers.

The WSU parkour and Freerunning Club, a group that trains the mind and body to become adaptive to any situation or obstacle, be it the stress of finals or learning to scale a 10-foot wall.

Being involved is more than a way for students to make friends and memories. Student organizations at Wichita State provide a safety net to increase students' success and satisfaction with their college experience. They're an invaluable part of being a Shocker.

To find out more about Student Involvement or student organizations available on campus, visit wichita.edu/involvement.

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Area high school robotics teams dominate WSU sponsored competitionFri, 19 Dec 2014 09:00:00 CSThttp://www.wichita.edu/thisis/wsunews/news/?nid=2701
Teams representing Kansas BEST were once again dominant at the regional Frontier Trails BEST Championship, taking three out of the top four places.
Courtesy

Teams representing Kansas BEST were once again dominant at the regional Frontier Trails BEST Championship hosted at the University of Arkansas-Fort Smith Dec. 5-6, taking three out of the top four places.

Wichita State University's College of Engineering has hosted the annual Kansas BEST competition since 1999, including the 16th annual event on Oct. 25 when 24 teams and 500 students competed at Hartman Arena. Six teams from that competition advanced to represent Kansas BEST at the regional Frontier Trails BEST Championship Dec. 9-10.

BEST (Boosting Engineering, Science and Technology) is a sports-like robotics contest designed to motivate high school students toward careers in engineering, science and technology.

Volunteer professional engineers and school coaches guide student teams through the engineering process. Student teams have six weeks to design, develop and test a remotely controlled robot that can outperform competitors at completing a predefined task. Using only the materials in kits provided at the competition, students experienced the same problems, challenges and breakthroughs that an engineering team encounters when it takes a product to market. Students experienced team dynamics, time constraints, material constraints and pressure from other teams trying to solve the same problem.

The Kansas BEST teams participating in the regional championship included Wichita Rose Hill, Home School, Ambassadors for Christ, Circle High, Valley Center and Campus, and most of them made it to the regional semi-finals. Based on their performance at the regional competition, three of the Kansas BEST teams placed in the Game Day Awards: Ambassadors for Christ (1st); Wichita Home School (2nd); and Circle High (4th).

In addition, Wichita Home School received a 3rd place and Circle received a 4th BEST Award based on overall evaluations of each team's project notebook, oral presentations, table display, interviews, overall spirit, sportsmanship and robot performance.

Other awards included:

Most Photogenic: Wichita Home School (1st) and Valley Center (3rd)

Most Robust: Wichita Home School (1st) and Ambassadors for Christ (2nd)

Founders Award for Creativity: Wichita Home School (1st)

Web Page Design: Wichita Home School (1st) and Circle High School (2nd)

Results from the Frontier Trails BEST Championship can be viewed at: goo.gl/7z4MIh.

General admission tickets for adults are $7. Discount tickets are $6 for seniors and military and $3 for students. WSU students always receive one free ticket with a Shocker ID.

Joined by strings, brass, organ and percussion, the Candlelight Concert is a celebration of the holiday season and of the talent in WSU's School of Music. The event offers a festive breadth of music that ranges from Gordon Lightfoot to Johann Sebastian Bach, including perennial favorites Beautiful Savior, Personet Hodie and more.

Tickets for this WSU musical tradition are available now at the Fine Arts Box Office noon-5 p.m. weekdays, in the lobby of Duerksen Fine Arts Center. Contact the box office at 316-978-3233, or purchase tickets online at wichita.edu/fineartsboxoffice.

In their first performance of the season, Wichita State University's Impulse Percussion Group (IPG) will rock the stage with "Sticks, Steps, and Rock 'n' Roll," at 7:30 p.m. Sunday, Nov. 23, in Miller Concert Hall, Duerksen Fine Arts Center.

General admission is $7, with $6 discount tickets available for WSU faculty and staff, military or seniors, or $3 for non-WSU students. Fine arts events are always free for WSU students with ID. Tickets for the event are on sale at the Fine Arts Box Office noon-5 p.m. weekdays in the lobby of Duerksen Fine Arts Center. Contact the box office at 316-978-3233. Tickets can also be purchased online at wichita.edu/fineartsboxoffice.

"Sticks, Steps, and Rock 'n' Roll" is an innovative collaboration with the WSU Dance Department and the School of Engineering. The Impulse Percussion Group will be featured during "Feast," a WSU Dance event that includes Charlotte Boye-Christensen's professional dance company, NOW-ID, in performance with WSU Performing Arts resident touring dance company, Wichita Contemporary Dance Theatre, Friday, Nov. 21, and Saturday, Nov. 22, in Miller Concert Hall.

"The Impulse Percussion Group is so lucky to have the opportunity to collaborate with Wichita Contemporary Dance Theatre," said Associate Professor of Music Gerald Scholl, director, "as well as Charlotte Boye-Christensen, who has been brought in by the WSU Dance Department.

"When IPG takes the stage," Scholl said, "the audience will experience something unlike other music performances. Lighting and other theatrical techniques will draw the audience in and move their attention around the stage."

The event includes works from disparate genres, including Alan Hovhaness "October Mountain," a five-movement piece built on Asian themes, and Aurel Hollo's "Jose beFORe John 5," which features instruments from around the globe and the unconventional use of an acoustic guitar.

Adding more interest to the event will be four movements of Maurice Ravel's "Le Tambeu de Couperin," performed by four percussionists, three vibraphones, one marimba and a glockenspiel.

Innovative collaboration

In addition to other performances, one key excerpt from "Feast" will be the premiere of a new musical composition, "Towers," a collaborative, original work still in the creation stage. To create this composition, IPG turned to the expertise of Tom McGuire, Wichita artist and engineering educator assistant. On loan from the collection of Ann Garvey, a pair of "drum towers" will produce a range of electrically engineered light and drum sounds for the performance from what McGuire described as a stack of recycled trash.

"From beginning to intermission, there is really no break," Scholl said. "The whole idea is to create a seamless event. The audience is always going to be engaged by something."

According to the WSU Percussion Department, IPG is composed of 10 of Wichita State's finest percussionists, who create forward-thinking, engaging performances that run counter to audiences' expectations.

"This is a chance for us to put the tux away and get creative with music," said Michael Carp, an Impulse Percussion Group member and graduate teaching assistant. "The collaboration with the dance department will add an exciting element that you just can't find anywhere."

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WSU Bicycle club offers movie screening to benefit brain cancer researchThu, 6 Nov 2014 15:00:00 CSThttp://www.wichita.edu/thisis/wsunews/news/?nid=2662
If you're looking for a good cause to get behind, the Wichita State University Bicycle Club, along with the Oz Bicycle Club and Bike Walk Wichita, will present a premiere screening of "HOPE," a documentary about cyclist Maria Parker's 3,000 mile race to fight her sister's terminal cancer diagnosis.

The screening will be followed by a question-and-answer session with Parker and the film's producer.

The screening starts at 7 p.m. Thursday, Nov. 13, at Wichita State's CAC Theater. Admission is $10, or $5 for all students with ID; the doors will open at 6:30 p.m. Local bike shops and clubs will be on hand to provide information about bicycling opportunities in the community

"HOPE" features the story of Parker's epic race; how an accident that destroyed her equipment and devastated Parker and her crew couldn't stop the greatest comeback in the 2013 Race Across America, widely recognized as the world's toughest race. "HOPE" is a story about hope in in the face of death, and refusing to accept the impossible.

Moriah Beck

According to Moriah Beck, assistant professor in the WSU Chemistry Department, the film is about much more than a bicycle race.

"I believe this film will be inspiring for everyone who has had a family member with a terminal disease," she said.

Beck hosted Parker's family and support team as they passed through Wichita in the summer of 2013, and she's continued to follow and support 3,000 Miles to a Cure, Parker's charity.

"As a recipient of cancer research funds at WSU," Beck said, "I thought it was important to do my part to encourage continued funding for research."

According to event organizers, 100 percent of the proceeds from the showing of "HOPE" will be donated to benefit brain cancer research.

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Physical Plant landscapers work to make first impressions into lasting onesThu, 6 Nov 2014 08:00:00 CSThttp://www.wichita.edu/thisis/wsunews/news/?nid=2658
Wichita State University landscapers relocate summer tropicals, mill the soil and plant tulip bulbs to bloom at the beginning of April.
Xavier Mortenson

It's that time of year when evenings turn crisp and the leaves turn yellow.

But on Wichita State's newly renovated campus, fall is also the time of year when the landscaping department pulls up the summer's green, tropical plants, tills the cooling soil and plants tulip bulbs for the spring season.

And with the construction of Shocker Hall, the renovation of the Rhatigan Student Center and the conversion of Alumni Drive into Alumni Walk distracting from most of the campus' landscapes for years, the department is now happy to have another clean slate.

"You can tell how big a mess we've had the past couple years," says Arlan Clocke, a Wichita State landscape technician.

New beds have been planted around the Rhatigan Student Center with fragrant sumac and flowering mums, while landscapers continue to maintain dogwoods, yuccas and bald cypress trees planted around Shocker Hall. Grass is now growing where construction crews once worked over trampled grounds.

"It's got to be combed for debris, construction materials, rock, concrete," Clocke said. "…We need to get in there and till it, get the ground worked up where it's been so compacted down by the big equipment.

"We're usually the last ones to come in after everything's done."

The Physical Plant's mission is to create an environment conducive to learning and research.

"We keep in mind that for the students and faculty, this can be a stressful environment," said Kari Ossman, a Wichita State landscape technician. "We make sure they can touch, check out the landscape and then resume."

But Ossman and Clocke agree it's much more than that.

"To me, it's the front door to all the prospective students and visitors," Clocke said.

"Our department is like the first impression," Ossman said. "We make sure everything is nice and tidy."

From sowing to blooming

The floral department has been hard at work preparing the soil around campus for the winter and spring seasons. In January or February, Ossman will make final decisions on what kind of plants will be on Wichita State's campus for the next year.

Twice a year, Ossman said, plants are exchanged for new ones. The tropical plants that adorned the beds over the summer have been relocated to the Physical Plant's four greenhouses, where Dexter Mardis, equipment operator for the floral department, prunes – or "details" as the department prefers to say – the greenery, some of which has taken a beating in its months on display.

"It's really important -- not just because it looks ugly," Mardis said, "but because pests and diseases can get in and spread from there."

Wichita State is unique, Ossman says, because the university has its own greenhouses where plants are harvested from "sowing to blooming." Three greenhouses are scattered on Physical Plant property and a third is adjacent to McKinley Hall for storage. (The greenhouse that sits atop Hubbard Hall is for the biology department's use, Ossman said.)

Ossman follows a seed chart for each species of plant that details when to water, fertilize and relocate to another greenhouse. And after being removed from the beds at the end of a season, each plant is cared for in a greenhouse until its next showcase to the university.

Careful decisions

Every herb, color and species of plant placed on campus is a careful decision.

The department always looks for yellow flowers to match Wichita State's colors, but those are hard to come by, Ossman said, and marigolds attract spiders.

"We look for things that are durable and like the wind," she said. "Tropicals do a really good job. We try to add height, texture and fragrance with flowers or herbs."

Landscapers discovered that red tulips looked best surrounding the Miro mural, which graces the Ulrich Museum of Art's southern facade. And plants surrounding Millie the millipede tend to have a whimsical, Wizard of Oz or Dr. Seuss theme.

"The Ulrich has summer programs with children, and they might incorporate landscaping in art," Ossman said. "They make sure there's herbs that are fragrant. Tomatoes have a really good, strong fragrance. We put things they can touch on the edges and put walkways through the beds."

Place to learn

Ossman said the department's ultimate goal is to bring back the community garden to campus.

Originally located north of the Rhatigan Student Center, the garden was forced to close because of construction. The garden, which grew a variety of fruits and vegetables for students to pick and take home each week, was temporarily located at the Corbin Education Center.

Although the plan isn't official yet, Ossman hopes the garden – expanded with strawberries, rhubarb and other berry bushes -- will be planted on the northeast corner of Ahlberg Hall.

"It will be a place for people to learn; maybe taste," she said. "Students can come help if they want to participate. It's fun to watch things grow."

Clocke says the nature of his job sometimes keeps him from taking a step back to enjoy the final product. He's the "critic" – always looking for things that needs fixing. But when he travels, he's able to gain perspective on the team's accomplishments.

"I've been around to other campuses, at K-State and KU," Clocke said. "Every campus is different -- but our campus is pretty beautiful."

WuShock has something worth tweeting about. The popular Wichita State University mascot now has more than 10,000 followers on Twitter.

The follower who put WuShock over 10,000 was Christal Weers from Drury, Kan.

Wu has been on Twitter since 2009. He likes to tweet because it allows him to "share all of the thoughts germinating inside him."

WuShock says the highlight of his tweeting career was definitely the Final Four run and last year's undefeated march to the NCAA Tournament.

If you want to join the masses and follow Wu, it's easy to do @Wu_Shock.

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Shocktoberfest 2014 features Space Jam, Hunger Games themesFri, 17 Oct 2014 14:40:00 CSThttp://www.wichita.edu/thisis/wsunews/news/?nid=2640
The Shocktoberfest Songfest, a popular lip-synching and dance competition, will be held at the Orpheum Theatre in downtown Wichita this year.
Tim Hart

Shocktoberfest will make its annual return to the Wichita State campus next week with themes built around the 1996 American live-action/animated sports family/comedy film "Space Jam." Sponsored by Student Activities Council and other Student Involvement committees, Shocktoberfest events begin Saturday, Oct. 18, and will last one week.

"The Space Jam theme came from the idea that Michael Jordan's number for the longest time was No. 23, and this is the 23rd annual Shocktoberfest," said Logan Pohl, the campus traditions chair at Student Activities Council. "It was such an iconic movie."

Hunger Games

In addition to the usual Shocktoberfest favorites – Trunk or Treat, Breakfast with Bardo and a 3-on-3 basketball tournament to name a few – students can also participate in Hunger Games, which, happily, does not involve archery, reapings or the overthrow of a totalitarian regime.

The event will be a competition among student organizations to collect canned food and hygiene products, and to create the largest "cornucopia" of goods. Organizations pre-registered their "district" in early October, while teams will build their cornucopias at 2 p.m. Thursday in the Rhatigan Student Center. Donated goods will go to the United Rescue Mission.

"We decided to make it more interesting and more hip and in with the times," said Carol Gibbons of the Community Service Board, which has teamed up with SAC for the drive. "The name is going to capture attention. People are hungry and we're fighting hunger."

Prizes will be awarded to the district that collects the most goods and to the district that builds he best cornucopia.

Space Jam Songfest

Participants in this year's Songfest – a five-minute lip-syncing and dance competition – will perform songs depicting a theme of Space Jam, while not actually performing songs from the Space Jam soundtrack. Pohl says it's a new rule this year to spur creativity.

"It forces them to think a little outside the box," Pohl said, "and also so that our judges wouldn't have to hear the Space Jam soundtrack on repeat. We asked them to kind of work within the theme."

Because of demand, Songfest will be at 7 p.m. Oct. 25, at The Orpheum Theater in downtown Wichita, marking the first time the event has been held in an off-campus location. Winners of Songfest, individual competitions and the overall trophies will be announced immediately following the event. Admission will be free for students with WSU ID and $10 for the general public.

The public is invited to come "Back to the Park" from 2 p.m. to dusk on Saturday, Oct. 4, in Fairmount Park. The event will take place at 1647 N. Yale, south of Wichita State University's Brennan Hall.

This is a free family, nonalcoholic event with live music from local bands, art, food, fun and the celebration of a clean, cohesive, vibrant and healthy community.

Before the celebration, the Fairmount Neighborhood Association will have its annual neighborhood cleanup starting at 8 a.m. With help from the city of Wichita, Wichita Parks and Recreation and Waste Connection, volunteers are being asked to help clean up the neighborhood.

The event is co-sponsored in part by the Shockers Forever Student Alumni Association, WSU College of Fine Arts, Office of Diversity and Inclusion, and African-American Faculty and Staff Association.

The opening of Shocker Hall -- Wichita State's new state-of-the-art, centrally located residence facility -- is redefining what it means to be a student at WSU.

Shocker Hall opened to all of its residents Aug. 16. With nearly 800 students on five floors, top-notch dining, a coffee shop open 19 hours a day -- all in a beautiful, modern setting -- Shocker Hall is one of the most exciting updates to campus in decades.

And it's already changing the way students think about their college experience.

"When you live at Shocker Hall, you develop a sense of belonging -- a feeling like you belong at this university," says junior Alex Van Pelt. "You join a community of people who all have one passion in common: being a Shocker. I think people who live off campus can see this, and more and more people will want to join us here at Shocker Hall."

The new facility truly defines WSU's commitment to residential living -- a big change from the university's tradition of being mostly a commuter college.

"There's a distinction between living near people and living with people, and living on campus, especially in Shocker Hall, we get to really live with one another," says junior Megan Stessman. "More people are attracted to housing now."

'People want to live here'

Shocker Hall is made up of four buildings, one of which has a laundry room, community kitchen and lounge area (referred to as an LKL) on each of its five floors.

There are spacious rooms, high-tech lounges and unprecedented Wi-Fi capabilities. But it's the social aspect that's taking Wichita State by storm.

Van Pelt says one of the best parts of Shocker Hall is its outdoor courtyard, which has turned into a social hub for students to gather after class and on weekends to meet with friends or make new ones.

There are also a lot of impromptu get-togethers now in the lounges and game room, says Stessman, a resident assistant in Shocker Hall.

As an RA, she's in charge of planning educational and social programs for her floor that connect residents with each other and to resources in the university. Most of those planned programs happen at night when people are out of class.

There's no doubt there is a renewed sense of after-hours life at WSU now that so many students are living in the heart of campus.

"Now that Shocker Hall is here, people want to live here," says Van Pelt. "That is a complete turn-around from just a year ago. People want to be right here in the middle of all the action which is Wichita State University. Campus is becoming a place you want to be, not just a place for classes. With all the activities and friends right here, who wants to live anywhere else? In my mind, that is a vast improvement."

Feeling connected

Before moving to Shocker Hall, Stessman lived in Fairmount Towers -- located just off campus at the corner of 21st Street and Hillside -- and the now closed Wheatshocker Apartments and Brennan Hall. She says student residents used to be in their own bubble, but now there is more of a community culture -- and that's after only a few weeks since Shocker Hall opened.

The dining facility is bringing in WSU professors, administrators and staff who residents wouldn't have seen previously in the cafeteria, allowing students more interactions with others on campus.

"It is astonishing how much more connected I feel to the campus when I live in its center," Stessman says. "The energy that has been put into this building and the community has a positive impact on our residents; you can tell that they feel valued and important."

Van Pelt says the innovative design of Shocker Hall creates a closer sense of community, with large rooms that still let students feel close to their classmates living down the hall. And, he said, it's not bad to look at either.

"It is simply beautiful. Everything from the rooms to the brand new dining facility have been wonderfully designed to be functional and gorgeous," Van Pelt says. "I live at Shocker Hall because every time I see it, I can't help but smile. This place is already my home, and I couldn't imagine living anywhere else."

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Fans beat attendance projection for 'Wichita State Day at the K'Thu, 26 Jun 2014 15:40:00 CSThttp://www.wichita.edu/thisis/wsunews/news/?nid=2505
Shocker fans line up prior to "Wichita State Day at the K," a promotion by the Kansas City Royals and WSU Office of Admissions. More than 1,700 Shocker fans attended the Royals' June 21 game versus the Seattle Mariners in Kansas City.
Courtesy

More than 1,700 Wichita State University fans flooded Kansas City's Kauffman Stadium Saturday, June 21, lining up hours in advance for the first "Wichita State Day at the K." The event was a promotion for the Kansas City Royals versus the Seattle Mariners game, in collaboration with WSU's Office of Admissions.

Supporters from Kansas City joined with WSU alumni and a large contingent of Shocker fans. Among them was Wu Shock, wearing an official Royals jersey, and Shocker basketball players Fred VanVleet, Tekele Cotton and Ron Baker, who participated in the honorary first pitch activities.

Fans arrived early hoping to be one of the 750 attendees lucky enough to score one-of-a-kind, dual-themed Royals/Shockers ball caps, designed exclusively for the event. Additionally, 60 fans were chosen for VIP treatment when the Royal's Shocker Fan Express charter bus arrived in Wichita to shuttle them, WSU student ambassadors and staff to the game. The bus was provided by the Royals and Fox Sports Network.

The event kept Twitter busy Saturday afternoon, with photos and tweets from the game trending with the official hashtag #royalshocks. The Royals initially projected to sell 750 seats for the Wichita State Day at the K promotion, but Shocker fans crushed that projection. Fox Sports Network took advantage of the opportunity to get an exclusive interview with Cotton, Baker and VanVleet during the third inning.

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WSU Japan Festival celebrates language, cultureThu, 1 May 2014 13:38:00 CSThttp://www.wichita.edu/thisis/wsunews/news/?nid=2466
Wichita State University's Modern and Classical Languages and Literature Department will hold its first Japan Festival from 11 a.m.-4 p.m. Friday, May 2, with booths demonstrating Japanese crafts, anime, cosplay and tea culture in Lindquist Hall, Room 100, 101 and the lobby. Admission is free and open to the public.

One major feature in the festival is the role play contest, which Japanese language students started preparing for three months ago. First-level students chose their own topics for the role play, while second-level students learned the story of Momotaro, the son of a peach, and adapted the story to showcase their creativity and language skills. Later in the program, participants will view a popular Japanese movie, "My Neighbor Totoro, at 1 p.m."

Two guests will attend the event, Erika Norikami and Jennifer Beachy. Norikami is the Japan Outreach Initiative coordinator from the University of Kansas. She will speak about education in Japan and demonstrate the Japanese headband, Hachimaki, at one event booth. Beachy is currently a Japanese teacher at the Butler County Community College and will demonstrate Origami.

The festival was organized by Yumi Foster, WSU Japanese language instructor since 1999, in collaboration with the Office of Multicultural Affairs, the KU Outreach Program and the Consulate General of Japan, Chicago.

"I want students to learn more about the Japanese culture along with their language learning process," said Foster. "Hopefully, through students' performances and engagement, we will show the WSU community that learning a language is more than just language training. It can be fun too."

Go to Wichita State's Japanese language and culture program website for more information.

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Oratorio marks end of season for Wichita State School of MusicTue, 29 Apr 2014 17:01:00 CSThttp://www.wichita.edu/thisis/wsunews/news/?nid=2464
Wichita State University's Concert Chorale, A Cappella Choir and Symphony Orchestra will present their Oratorio Concert at 7:30 p.m. Monday, May 5, in Miller Concert Hall. This event will be the final concert of the season for WSU's School of Music.

Franz Schubert's Mass in A Flat is a reminder of the storied history of settings by the great composers of classical music. Schubert composed six different settings of the familiar Latin text during his lifetime.

The Mass in A Flat is a balance of storytelling with performer virtuosity. Robert Ray's "Gospel Mass," a gospel-style setting of English translations of the traditional Roman Catholic mass texts, is a contemporary setting that uses traditional African-American church influences along with strong jazz undertones.

Albert Jordan, a founding member of the all-male group Cantus, will perform the tenor role for the Oratorio Concert. Trisha Garnes, a WSU alumna and member of several regional ensembles, including ARISE, will perform the soprano solos. Associate Professor Pina Mozzani will be the alto soloist and Andrew Simpson, recently featured by the Wichita Grand Opera, will be the bass soloist.

The orchestra will be directed by Associate Professor Mark Laycock, and the choir led by Professor Tom Wine and Assistant Professor Michael Hanawalt. Tickets are $10 for general admission, $8 for military, senior citizens, faculty and staff and $6 for students. WSU students receive one free ticket with their student ID.

For ticket information, call the WSU College of Fine Arts Box Office at 316-978-3233. Tickets can be purchased online at wichita.edu/fineartsboxoffice.

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WSU Nerd Union brings different interests to student groupThu, 24 Apr 2014 14:15:00 CSThttp://www.wichita.edu/thisis/wsunews/news/?nid=2460
Not long ago, calling someone a "nerd" was an insult; a form of bullying. These days, with superhero movies ruling the box office and 70 percent of video game enthusiasts averaging age 30, being called a nerd is no more than a friendly jab.

Alex Pennington

When Alex Pennington, a sophomore majoring in management information systems, set out to organize Wichita State's Nerd Union, he tapped into that trend of nerdiness and started a real buzz on the Wichita State campus.

Nerd Union has roots in WSU's Student Activity Committee (SAC) which, until this year, had a gaming committee to host events like competitive video gaming, board games and other entertainment on campus. They were the reason Pennington joined the SAC, and when the organization folded the gaming committee into the general events committee, he felt bothered.

"The people I met there, the stuff that we had in common – I felt that it was a group that was important to me," said Pennington. "It gave me the ability to meet other people like me."

That's part of the draw of Nerd Union: A lot of students fall through the cracks between students groups, which are an important aspect of college life and an opportunity to develop experience and leadership skills. Nerd Union is also a social opportunity for those who might otherwise feel out of place.

Ally Guerrero, for example, takes the spin on sterotypes one step further: girls can like nerd stuff too.

Guerrero is a junior from Garden City pursuing a degree in physical therapy. She's into video games, card games and Marvel comics, and says that without Nerd Union she probably wouldn't have many friends on campus or in Wichita.

"It's a great place to make friends and have fun," she said, "a mini-reprieve from the everyday stress of classes."

Nerdiness for everyone

Nerd Union, which has around 25 members, is open to anyone who shares their interested, even a little.

"We're a very open group," said Pennington. "You don't have to be hardcore to join. We change up the activities each week and we're pretty relaxed about attendance, so there's no big commitment. Anyone can drop in and just have fun."

Beyond its weekly activities, the group's first big event will be a Live Action Role Playing (LARP) tournament, "War of Thrones," word of which has started to spread the group's name around campus. Larping is something Nerd Union members have done among themselves before, but the idea to host a huge mock battle came when someone suggested that they get the fraternities together for it.

"My first thought was, 'the fraternity guys are just going to laugh at us. They're not going to think this will be a good idea,'" said Pennignton. "But when I talked to them they were excited. It surprised me to see how much interest there's been from all over campus, from groups and places that are not typically nerd-zones."

While Pennington is planning to make the LARP tournament a yearly event, the Nerd Union also has other ideas, like reviving the gaming committee's most popular event, "Pokefest," a celebration of all things Pokemon.

"Our main focus is on our immediate members, though," Pennington said. "We want to provide week-to-week activities, but we also want to reach out and provide entertainment for the entire campus."

While all things geek might be trending right now, for lifelong nerds the experience of having their interests actually be interesting to the general public is something that's hard to get used to. Still, the change is welcome.

"With 'War of Thrones' coming up," said Pennignton, "we've started to hear our name around campus, and that's new. Lots of people seem to know about the Nerd Union, and we overhear people saying cool things about us. We've actually made an impression on people – it's exciting, and I hope it really catches on at Wichita State."

Guerrero agrees.

"I think the Nerd Union is going to have a grand influence on WSU," she said.

The Nerd Union meets twice a week, from 6:30-8:30 p.m. Mondays and Wednesdays, in Ahlberg Hall, Room 220. The "War of Thrones" LARP will take place at noon Saturday, April 26, at Fairmount Park. Registration for LARP teams is already closed, but everyone in the WSU and Wichita community is invited to show up and watch the fun.